58% Will Disagree or Hate Me for Saying This

We discourage senior tech professionals and executives from sending 'thank you' emails.

They don't help themselves by sending them; however, I need to explain why:

• If you interviewed well, they will choose you
• If you interviewed poorly, they won’t

A ‘thank you’ email won’t change their minds.

You just met with them less than 24 hours ago.

They still talk about how good or bad you are.

You don’t need to remind them you exist.

When is it appropriate to follow up with an email?

• When you promised you’d share a something right after the interview
• When you are genuinely interested in something very personal they mentioned
• When something you shared caught their attention and seemed interested in learning more

In simple words, when there’s more than just a ‘thank you.’

While most candidates send ‘thank you’ emails, ask yourself, what can I do to stand out?

If you are not different than all the other robots, why would they be in a rush to hire you?

By the way, we are not saying that you don't say thank you and show genuine appreciation.

In fact, we encourage you to start by thanking them for their time as soon as you meet them.

And we encourage you to thank them again for their time and warmth on your way out also.

Your mission

Stand out so much from all other candidates that you don't need to send a 'thank you' email

Statistically speaking, your chances of getting the job are quite slim, think about it this way:

If there are five candidates, your chances of getting the job are 1 in 5, or 20%... simple math.

If there are more candidates, your chances are lower, let me give you one clear example:

• Charles Jean-Pierre got a job at Princeton University reporting to the CISO, and they were interviewing 41 candidates together with him), so his chances were 1 in 41 (2.44%)

Here's something interesting about Charles:

• He never attended an Ivy League school
• He's a person of Color, and while I, Brian Golod, and my team, have so much respect and appreciation for them, the truth is that they have to work so much harder to prove their worth (you can ask any person of Color and they will confirm this)

We have mentored more than a thousand senior tech professionals and executives in the USA and Canada, and we encourage them to make a real difference where it truly matters:

• The Interview

Anyone can go home and look up a 'thank you' email template, or borrow it from their friend.

But here's the thing... if all candidates sound and behave the same, maybe a 'thank you' email, as long as it's properly used (will address that in a moment), can give you an edge (with the right employer... most can't care less for them or actually even dislike them).

However, when you truly stand out so much during the interview, you don't need to send a 'thank you' email because you already have the confirmation that you are moving through to the next round, or that the job is yours, and will be receiving the job offer shortly.

I have done this eight times throughout my career in tech as a Full Stack Dev, Business Analyst, and Product Owner working in multinationals, public sector, and startups.

And our mentees have done this more times than we can count (100+ recommendations on my profile, and a private open community where they share their success stories).

• Chris, for example, is an Account Executive aka Sales... went through his hiring process, and after every single interview asked me:

Brian, should I send a 'thank you' email?

Here's what I responded every single time:

Look, we understand that Sales people are a different breed, and that maybe a 'thank you' email is typically expected from you; however, none of our clients in sales have ever needed to send one to get the job when they applied our Interview Sniper System, you will not be the first one.

I'm pretty sure you can imagine how the story ended... he didn't send the 'thank you' email, and still got the job.

Now, you might be thinking it's a pure coincidence.

And sure, when I first started mentoring senior tech professionals and executives seven years ago, and the very first person I mentored, Jean-Claude, got the job after trying for 24 months on his own unsuccessfully, I also asked myself whether this was just a coincidence.

But then... person after person, they all got the job offer at their very next interview, it became predictable, and fun, and the more I mentored people, the more experience I had.

This is not about sending 'thank you' emails.

This is about questioning everything you do.

This is about challenging the status quo.

This is about doing things differently.

Because as we all very well know...

The definition of insanity is:

Doing the exact same thing over and over expecting different results

If you want to continue sending 'thank you' emails rather than learning how to truly stand out during the interviews so much that employers can't even consider hiring someone else... which also positions you to be able to negotiate strongly, don't connect with me.

Seriously, don't even reach out, don't comment, and just move along...

However, if you are willing to learn a new way of switching jobs fast with your desired job conditions by lining up multiple interviews in a short time frame, receiving lots of job offers, and putting yourself in The Ultimate Position of Power to obtain your desired job conditions...

Let me know (connect, DM, comment, send a pigeon), I'm happy to share everything I know.

This is how 'thank you' emails are improperly used:

1. Candidates who attended interviews don't hear from recruiters, HR professionals or employers quickly enough, and start to feel anxious.
2. By this time, too many days will have passed, and they will use their 'thank you' email to fish for an update, which will come across as disingenuous.

If you truly want to send a 'thank you' email, send the thank you, make sure it is genuine, and leave it at that, don't mention anything about next steps or fish for them.

I know many employers will say:

I never hire anyone who doesn't send me a thank you email

Guess what! I wouldn't want to work for that person, and you shouldn't want to either!

Imagine, if they are so picky about receiving a 'thank you' email, you will dodge a real bullet.

Lastly, most candidates now send 'thank you' emails... it's not like it will set you apart. Remember, your job is to create an experience unlike any other candidate they've met.

If you're a senior tech professional or executive in the USA or Canada, currently employed, earning $150-300k, and feel miserable with your job and your job search progress, we explain how to approach it differently on this short free masterclass.

Why did I say 58%? Because this is what 58% of candidates do, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Those will probably hate on this article, and I'm totally okay with that.

My recommendation to anyone struggling to convert interviews into job offers is:

• Question everything you do
• Challenge the status quo
• Time box your efforts
• Reach out for help